The Trial of Sabin Rene
by Triad
Summary: FF6.  Sabin is reunited with old allies in a time of peace, only to face a more rigorous ordeal than he'd ever confronted on the battlefield: those close to him.  Please RR this work in progress!  Thank you much!
1. Beginning of the end

These are my words as I'm being hauled on an eight-foot plank by four men on each side, heavy plated armor cluttering their rigid movements. My arms and legs are cuffed to the plank with some sort of magic steel that I can't break.

I crane my neck and see my brother, upside down in my field of vision. His broken jaw is healing well, the swelling is barely detectable to most people. Except me. I've learned to recognize the jaws I've broken, even after the swelling goes down.

He's managed to smile with some poise. I can tell it's a fake though. He's not happy, not one bit, but he wants me to know he's won. Which is a laugh riot, because I'm the guy cuffed to the plank getting hauled to the slab in the center of the courtyard in Figaro Castle. It's a little obvious who won.

I look him in the eye and I know he's going to go through with it. I know this because I know I'm not going to beg for my life. I'm not going to concede, even though I've scarcely been more beaten down than this. Come to think of it, this is it. My run is over.

But you don't win, Edgar. Not really. Not if I don't break. You can cut my heart out with your mechanical saw, but you don't win unless I say so. That's the way it's always worked, ever since we were kids. Ever since you cheated me. You always sorta cheated me, come to think of it.

But in this moment, we aren't brothers. We're just two bodies. Mine is shackled to a board, yours is perched with a view to my execution. I am ready to fight. I have never submitted in combat. Duncan once broke every bone in my hand a piece at a time and I didn't submit. This is my game, Edgar. This is how I play.

I am slipping back into what I know. What I've grown away from these past months. What I believed I could escape. What she made me believe I could escape.

And in the end, it's about her. It's always about the girl. Women are complications.

She's perched next to him with an eerie glow on her skin and a blank look on her face. She wears that ring on her finger like she wore the slave crown on her head. She won't look at me. She won't look at her mistakes.

I hate you, Terra Branford. You really ruined everything.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Six Months Ago..._

"Move your head, Diago!" I hollered from the corner of the mat. I'm sat with my legs folded, relaxed against the tatami walls of my dojo. Diago took two awkward steps forward, faked a jab, and got pasted in the face by a stiff right from Marcus. I mean, Marcus really whacked him. Diago's chin tucked into his neck from the force and he sat down hard, blood squirting from his nose onto the mat. The mat is red for a reason.

Marcus stood awkwardly by, watching with a look more like curiosity than concern as I steadied Diago so he could sit back. Marcus wanted to know if that hit got to Diago or not. If it rattled him. When you get hit, it's a dice game, really. Sometimes you get creamed and you can keep on chugging through the fight. Other times, someone finds just the right spot and just the right time to clip you. It doesn't even have to be hard. You feel it in your soul.

Diago was feeling it. I saw it in his eyes he didn't want to fight anymore. He didn't even want to finish practice today. He looked like a cur dog. A body capable of wrecking shop but a broken spirit. That's what Duncan called it.

I call it "fight mojo". Mainly because I don't think spirit has much to do with it. Spirit is for magic. Duncan liked to make everything mystical and magical about martial arts. The truth is, you train hard, and you get tougher and stronger. You break yourself down until you're just that body fighting that other body and there's not much else.

That's the fight mojo. The drive that makes you able to reach that state where you break everything down. Diago sulked over to his rucksack with his street clothes in it and started changing out of his gi. Marcus looked at me and shrugged, wanting approval.

"Nice right. Work on setting it up better. When he learns to move his head, you wont just be able to blast him right down the pipe." I lectured. Marcus nodded his head, his scraggly blonde hair stuck to his face with sweat.

"Thank you, sir. I will do that, sir." Marcus mumbled after taking the rubber mouth protector out. He bowed very deeply, his shoulderblades poking through his painfully thin back as he bent. I nodded in return. He went out back onto the slate patio and poured a pail of cold water down his head and chest. The water sizzled a little in the hot June sun.

I stopped Diago as he made a break for the sliding door that led to the foyer and the entrance. He was attempting to slip out without looking anyone in the face.

"Diago." I said as neutrally as I could. "I want you to go home, wash up, rest the night, and I want to see you back here tomorrow. Get here half an hour early because we're going to work extra hard on your head movement, okay?" He looked at the floor, motionless. I sighed.

"Diago, if you're not bleeding, submitting, or getting hit during practice, you're not learning anything. Does that sound familiar?"

"Yes sir." His accent was thick but clear.

"Good. Rest up. You're gonna need it." I smiled at him with encouragement, putting up my fists and bobbing my head side to side. He gave a half nod, his dark bronze face still pointed at the floor. He slid the paper door open and left for home.

He was Vargas' boy. Same handsome bold sorta ethnic look. Same powerful, lean build. Less than one tenth the fight mojo. Vargas was a tough son of a bitch, certainly one of the toughest. He'd tired of his son's shyness very early and refused to train him. He was flippant about Diago training under me, pretending not to give much of a damn what his son did or didn't do.

It was certainly awkward, but I took the kid on as my student. He was one of those guys that was a beast during the workouts and on the heavy bags and practice dummies, but the minute the real fists started flying around, he was like a turtle. He just popped into his shell. I figured he was scared to take a hit, but Vargas knocked him around pretty good in his youth, so it wasn't like the kid was fragile. He had everything he needed to be an unstoppable fighter, except the drive. The fight mojo.

I'd be damned if I couldn't teach it to him. It's in all of us. It's just sometimes hidden. Hidden really damn well. I'd teach him to find it if it killed him. I figure it'd be the best thing anyone ever did for the poor kid. Which is why I put him against boys I knew were set to kick his ass, time and time again.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wiped the mantle free of dust, and straightened out the picture of Duncan above it. The room smelled of soapy residue on the mats, all my boys had scrubbed them down after practice and walked around the outside of the room carefully as they filed out of the dojo. I was just straightening stuff up that wasn't really out of place, I just needed to mess with it to feel like I was maintaining things.

"Well, I'm out of here, okay Sabe?" Leila called from the doorway. I turned around, a little surprised, I was thinking about Duncan and Vargas and being a kid. She was leaning against the doorway with her knapsack over her shoulder. Her short brown hair was tossled after a day's work. Her clothes were loose and a little threadbare, hanging around her figure. I smirked. She really dressed up for me.

If I'm not going to get married, I at least needed a maid to keep things in order, so my big brother said. He sent her to me free of charge. I was expecting a nymphy little blonde in a short black dress with white frills that called me "Master Figaro" or whatever, coming from Edgar. I knew the whole idea was to have someone in my house day to day keeping tabs on what little brother was doing with his life.

Leila wasn't really your typical royal maid. Or "household consultant" as she referred to herself. Her face was young but firm. She had big warm brown eyes, but she always pursed her lips in a guarded way. She didn't dress to impress, but I could see a strong, athletic figure as she busied around my house, never falling for the "I dropped something, could you bend over and pick it up?" trick.

"A thousand squats every day and you cant pick up a book?" she laughed. "I didn't even know you could read." Ouch, honey. I might look like a meathead but I went to a royal school when I was a kid, and yes, I like to read. Intense emotional drama, mainly. Conflicts that don't necessarily involve climactic, choreographed battles or duels. Most of these authors had never even been in a schoolyard scuffle, let alone an epic duel. It was all fake.

"Dinner's on the table in the kitchen."

"What's for dinner?" I smiled.

"Lean steak with broccoli and half a potato." She rolled her eyes.

"Mustard?"

"Yeah, I put it on the side. Seriously, Sabe, that's such a dull meal. You need let me show you some real food one of these days."

"Flavor is fat, honey. I'm a respected athlete, I have an image to uphold" I motioned to the ridiculous gold statue of me that my buddy Locke had "anonymously" sent me to put out front. I couldn't bear to have that be the first thing people saw when they looked at the place, so I hid best I could amongst the throwing dummies hanging on the wall.

The sculpture is of me climbing up the side of the multi-tiered statue with my fist drawn back, ready to punch someone's lights out. I assume it's presumably Kefka, as I haven't climbed up a living statue to fight anyone else in my life. However, a statue of Kefka wouldn't be a great conversation starter in my place of business.

In the sculpture, I'm ridiculously muscular. I mean, the artist must have not known that much about anatomy, because I have rippling bulges on every surface of my skin. It's ridiculous. I know I'm a powerfully built guy, but I'm still pretty lean. Muscle can protect you and strengthen you, but it can really slow you down, too.

"Whatever, then. Enjoy your mustard potato…I'll see you for breakfast."

"Hey" I called after her. She turned on one foot, maybe confused, maybe annoyed. "You forgot to kiss me goodnight."

She rolled her eyes and hurriedly walked over and pecked me on the cheek, wincing at my stubble. I pinched her hip with my one hand, through her loose slacks. She jumped a little and slapped my hand with a huff.

"Goodnight, Sabin." She said, very flat, and she left. I smiled a little. She was tough. I sorta liked it.

I wandered from the foyer into the private area of my home, across the bear rugs. The fire was running hot, the lid on my dinner tray on the table was steaming. Leila worked fast, she didn't mess around, that girl.

I sat back in my favorite chair with my dinner tray on my lap. I don't know why she put my dinner on the kitchen table when she knew I'd wind up eating in the den. Better yet, I wondered how much of a wuss I was for mentally complaining about it. Sabin, the big badass hero whines about how his maid cooks him dinner.

Maybe I fussed because I was lonely and needed some drama in my life. It's silly how your mind does things like that, creates problems when there are none to speak of. I usually got my fix from a good book or whatnot. It kept me from needing a serious relationship in my life.

The other end I satisfied through sheer exploitation of my fame. I mean, I never was a flirtatious person. My brother was more than enough for the two of us. But I mean, after a pretty celibate life of living in a dojo though my younger adult years, I started to get antsy. I wont lie. I'm still human. Girls pay attention to you when they hear that you were that guy who climbed the tower of Kefka and stopped him from using the Espers' power to destroy the world. They make up excuses to talk to you and ask you how strong you are. So yeah, I've awkwardly brought a few of them back here to spend the night, maybe a few nights. Never lasts longer than that, though. It's for the best.

I finished my dinner, mopping up the last bit of mustard with the skin of my baked potato. It was such a basic meal but it contained everything a fighter needed to stay strong and healthy. I'd eaten it nearly every day since I started training, except the times I went to my brother's and he'd gotten me drunk on red wine and insisted I try some horrible liver pate and chocolate mousse. If that was the high life, I really could care less.

I put my tray on the table next to my easy chair and licked my hands clean of the mustard and salt. No one was around, who cared. I stretched my ankles forward and back, looking at my bookshelf. I glanced down at the table I put my tray on. It was covered in sealed envelopes and parchments. My fan mail. Leila had set it out for me.

Most of it probably was fan mail. Fathers praising me, asking me to train their sons, mother's asking me to marry their daughters. Then of course, entrepreneurs asking me to start a franchise and recruit other instructors. It's true my membership had blown out of proportion after the whole saving the world thing happened. Everyone wanted to come learn the secret technique that killed Kefka. For the first time ever, people were turned away at the doors of this dojo. I wasn't going to entrust other instructors, and I physically couldn't fit more than thirty or so inside the training hall.

I didn't open most of it, until I came upon this blue envelope with a curious seal. It had the industrial, stark emblem of a circled "N" for Narshe. I raised an eyebrow. Everyone in Narshe was either a miner or a blacksmith, I didn't get students from snow country, which was a shame because blue collar workers like that tend to be pretty strong folk. I opened it up out of curiosity.

_Sir Sabine Rene Figaro –_

_I hate to write to you in a time of need, though the miles between us have made casual conversation impractical, and unfortunately I find myself reaching out to others only to ask favors. _

_Your help is needed in the city of Narshe. I cannot divulge anything further than to say that it is urgent and it concerns yourself and your brother. Should this letter be intercepted, I cannot risk anything more than that._

_Please come to my house in the north part of town, my assistants will recognize you and grant you entrance. I will explain everything._

_Greatly appreciated –_

_Arvis of Narshe_

_P.S. – Ms. Branford sends her regards._

I put the letter down in my lap. No one had heard from Terra in the year and a half since we won the fight in the tower. She'd never responded to Edgar's formal invitations to his frequent masquerade balls, mainly because he had no idea where to send them, and thus dispatched scouts from time to time to snoop for information. I suspected all along that Terra Branford had tugged at my big brother's heart in a way that other human girls hadn't. Mainly because Terra wasn't entirely human. She was literally above his attempts to flirt with her, to win her attention.

I mean, Terra was a knockout once you got past the glowing skin and green hair. But whatever. To me, a body is a body, just like in a fight. There were lots of other fine young things for Edgar to play with, but it's always the one you can't have that drives you crazy, they say.

I figured Edgar would be thrilled to have a location on her once and for all, and a formal invitation to boot. I wondered what she could be up to with the old man. Was he still with the Returners? Was she having some kinda identity crisis, revisiting the man who saved her from slavery? Did the Returners even exist anymore? What were they fighting against anyway? Empire? What empire?

I kicked my feet back and sighed the air out of my lungs, the letter still in my lap as I settled deeper into the chair. Whatever was up, I would get my coat and set for Narshe in the morning.


	2. Gideon

In through the nose, out through the clenched teeth. It's how I breathed jogging thirty something odd miles uphill and downhill through the shallow, muddy frost. Elevation and altitudes are incredible things. It was June and the water bubbled on my patio, but there still was melting snow up in the mountains, sliding in slow chunks down the rocky slope.

I could afford good shoes, clothes that kept my body temperature regulated. It really made a difference, even if it was all psychological, during something as draining as a thirty mile jog through unfriendly terrain.

I had to get there by nightfall, which was more than feasible considering I left my house before sunrise, scribbling a note for Leila on the table to only come by twice a week to check on the place until further notice. No classes were going to be held this week, but the guys could drill together and work out. Marcus would lead the workouts. I didn't want anyone sparring when I wasn't around. I worry about my guys. It's why I wouldn't franchise with other instructors.

I stopped around what I reckoned was four in the afternoon to drink some tea I'd pre-brewed in a jar with a big amount of honey in it. I was burning up so much energy traveling that I needed to replenish it frequently. Sweet stuff and caffine worked as a small pick me up, though I'd burn out if the journey was any longer than it was going to be. I'd need sleep and real food. The tea was incredibly sweet, but my tastebuds were pretty thankful for the sudden explosion of flavor. I sat on a smooth black rock near a slowly melting plate of ice, gliding past on a cushion of moss.

The black plumes of smoke from the forges and stoves of Narshe drifted over the mountains, visible from the bottom of the steep pathway up to town. I hadn't been to Narshe in about two years. Hadn't seen such thick snow.

Nothing melted, secure in the thick barrier of mountains that trapped the cold in. The coal burning furnaces weren't enough to counter the almost supernatural, dry chill that blanketed everything in Narshe. It was always winter here. The air was thin, and it strained my very exhausted lungs.

One last hill. Ironically, the steepest of the journey, the pathway into the city. You could chuck a snowball down the path and it'd be the size of a person by the time it hit the bottom. If any army ever tried to take the city by storm, this might very well be a valid defense measure.

I frowned at the first things that greeted me, workers and miners huddled around fires built in metal drums. Maybe their homes weren't heated, maybe they didn't have homes. I had no idea what to expect, getting such an urgent message to come without much of an explanation. Without any explanation, really.

No one seemed to pay attention to me. I knew some of them must have remember days I was a supporter of the Returners, but how many of them died when the continent fell? How many of them even really cared who I was? When you're freezing and starving, nothing much matters besides food and warmth.

It made me feel like a chump for buying into my "hero" status. Yeah, I did my part to save the world, but the World of Ruin was a shitty world to save. I could beat a crazy god-to-be, but I couldn't do anything to put food on someone's table or a stove in their house. I was humbled walking through town, I figured I'd take the quickest route to Arvis' house. If I could only remember where that was…

Noise. Horrible noise. I heard an awful, guttural mechanical buzzing tearing through the snow toward me from a snow bank to my right. Wet powdery flakes misted my hair and eyes as a gleaming black beast burst into view. I dove and rolled, tucking my chin when I hit the ground. I sprung up, my fists in front of my jaws.

The thing swiveled to a T with me, spraying me with a second arc of snow, which I lashed away using my sleeve. Through my puffs of breath I could see more clearly. It was an armored man on some sort of machine. My jaw unclenched a little and I stepped forward, my rear hand still up, ready to punch through this guy's helmet should he make the wrong move.

My brother Edgar's garish blonde hair popped out from underneath the helmet as he took it off, shaking his head in the cool air. We stared at each other for a moment, trying to read each other's expressions. I don't know why, but I swallowed some of the snowflakes on my lip. They were starting to bother me.

He rolled his eyes.

"Well, aren't you going to ask me what it is?" He asked, annoyed.

"There's other ways to show me…"

"It's a snowmobile."

"…besides driving them at me at high speeds…"

"First prototype, the hovercraft wont work in the snow, the jets burn too hot and they muddy the ground, can't drive worth a damn."

"…you almost hit me with your…"

"Snowmobile." He grinned. "I took Terra on a ride this morning. Loved it." He said that bit with some obvious bait. He was wooing her already, and he wanted me to be jealous. Whatever. It's Terra. Terra's…weird.

"How is she?" I asked, awkwardly standing there in the middle of town with people staring at us from shop windows.

"Come see for yourself. Want to drive?"

"No." I said, emphatically.

"Good, because I wouldn't let you anyway. Get on the back?"

I groaned. I didn't like airships, boats, undead trains, snowmobiles, anything that wasn't connected to the ground firmly. Your body isn't meant to move faster than it can move itself. That in mind, my feet were absolutely killing me, and I really couldn't remember where Arvis lived. I swung my leg over the back of the rear seat and held on to Edgar reluctantly. I'm pretty sure I could make out the sound of him laughing. I wondered to myself how many "lucky" girls would sit where I was sitting in the future.

Behind every one of my brother's toys was a scheme to get some pretty lady out of her dress.

I'd already walked past the house, ironically. I'd just been wandering, afraid to ask anyone for fear of the secrecy involved. Edgar had taken the snowmobile out for a spin, always testing his inventions, so he "happened" to "happen" upon me, as he said. I stomped off my boots as I headed up the steps to Arvis' house.

I didn't get the chance to knock on the thick, gnarly door. Terra eased it open, her luminous green hair catching my eye. It was tied back high on her head in a ponytail. Her curious eyes smiled at me more than her lips, which turned upward slighltly.

"Sabin." She said, tipping her head to the side, her ponytail dangling behind her. I grinned at her, yanking her to me in a bear hug and hoisting her up off the floor. She made a slightly excited noise. I kissed her on the cheek.

"Hey, honey." I could feel how thin she'd gotten through her loose, warm clothing. It was probably men's clothing, probably Arvis'. Back when I knew Terra, she was never one to dress warm. I could feel the ridges in her ribs against my arms; she felt almost fragile. A little uneasy, I put her down gently. She gave me another one of her curious looks and smiled a little wider.

"How was your trip?"

"Ah, it was…"

"Damn fool should have let me pick him up at his house, man. My hovercraft could've gotten him out here in an hour." Edgar was coming up the steps behind me, talking over me as usual. I nodded and went to move past Terra into the house, but she was awkwardly still standing in my way. I looked at her comically, wondering why she hadn't moved out of the doorway.

"Oops…" She backed up a few steps, letting me past. Edgar was still talking in the background, telling her she needed to try driving the snowmobile around the outskirts of town, maybe down the slope at the entranceway. Of course, he'd have to drive for that one, she'd have hold him tight for safety on the way down…

I started unbuttoning my heavy wool coat, now that I was out of the dry, sharply cold air.

"You'd best leave that on, Sir Sabin Rene. We need to leave at once." An elderly stout man with a gray beard and a cap made his way out of the kitchen, limping on a cane with surprising dexterity.

"Arvis. Hi." I stepped forward and shook his hand. He barely grasped it and moved briskly past.

"Let us hurry, folks" Arvis said, the pipe in the corner of his mouth warping some of his words. "Time is of some essence."

"Yeah, we've been waiting around for half a day for you, meathead. Arvis, next time you need us, just send me the letter. I'll pick him up on the way. If I remember…" Edgar poked me in the side. I faked a punch to his face. Terra's face warmed up a little. I guess the sight of us bickering was a funny familiar memory for her.

"Say, where are we going anyway?" I asked, suddenly realizing I didn't know why I was here.

"To the mines!" Arvis called, already outdoors on the front steps. I ran after him. For a crippled old man, that bastard could really move.

The blind leading the blind, basically. We were following Arvis in a straight line through the mines north of town. I was close behind in second place, looking side to side for wolves or bats. The mines were still infested with fiends, even though they were regularly used. It made mining a really tough line of work. Edgar was chewing Terra's ear off about what he'd been doing the past year or so.

"It's not quite ready yet, but I should be able to take Figaro castle out on the open water after a few more modifications. See, it's all built on the subterranean travel mechanism. I'm installing a buoyancy operating system…"

He was trying to make it sound as interesting as possible, but I had a feeling it was falling on her pale ears as word salad. I shot her a quick look over my shoulder, moving my hand subtly like a jabbering mouth. Her eyes caught my movement and she grinned just for a second, continuing to listen. He was boring the hell out of me, but she actually seemed to be listening. I guess she was being polite.

"Arvis, what are we looking for, exactly?" I asked, wiping my nose on my sleeve. My sinuses had made the switch from damp heat to bitter cold in one day, and my nose was paying the price.

"Gideon!" He proclaimed, proudly. Arvis had gotten a bit senile since the World of Ruin came to be. Apparently he lost a lot of his mobility as a result of it, hence the cane.

"Right, Gideon." I repeated. "And Gideon would be…?"

"Gideon!" He exclaimed again, in the same tone, hobbling with double speed toward the ridged, dripping cave wall to our right. He brushed pebbles and bits of rock dust off the middle of the wall. I couldn't see what he was doing. I moseyed over to the opposite wall and picked up a rusty, unlit oil lantern.

"Ed. Blowtorch?" I muttered over my shoulder. Edgar raised an eyebrow and turned his head toward me.

"What makes you think I carry that thing on my person?"

"Figured I'd ask…Terra I guess there's no chance you still remember some of that magic of yours, huh?" I turned around, looking at her. She blushed a little.

"No, I'm sorry…see, there's no more Warring-"

"I know, I know." I cut her off. I couldn't see shit and I was pretty frustrated about it.

"At least the good half of you survived." Edgar smiled at her. I'm sure she was still blushing but I wasn't looking. I decided to make myself useful and get a closer glimpse of whatever old man Arvis was jabbering about.

"A plaque?" I looked over his shoulder and made out a foot-long brass inscription on the wall. Sure enough, it said "GIDEON".

"Not just any plaque. A burial placard." Arvis said, matter-of-factly.

"So something is buried down here?"

"Not so much. Something is most likely entombed in the wall…see, step back! Look at the way this section of the mine wall is darker than the rest. It has more moisture from being disturbed, however long ago this Gideon was buried." His speech was surprisingly coherent. He must have prepared it in advance, wanting something to tell us. We all nodded and gazed at the wall. I guess it looked a _little_ darker…

"So…Arvis…" Edgar asked, his hands in the pockets of his long coat.

"Yes?"

"What did you want us to see this…Gideon for?" Arvis began to chuckle.

"Arvis thinks Gideon could be an Esper!" Terra blurted out, excitedly. I scratched my head. Edgar tried to hide a smile.

"Love, weren't all your shiny friends, you know, unable to sustain themselves in a world without magic?" He reasoned. She frowned a little, her eyes darkening.

"Precisely, but you remember that Esper you found in here years ago? The one Ms. Branford came looking for in her big riding armor?" Arvis asked. I shrugged. Did I remember? I never liked the Espers too much, to be honest. I liked to stick with what I knew.

"Tritoch, yes." Edgar remembered.

"Arvis thinks maybe the ice in the cave could have preserved an Esper…you know, like how things freeze to death but stay intact…maybe they can be brought back." She explained.

"Sorta like Locke's girlfriend?" I asked, confused. Edgar smirked.

"Wonderfully sensitive of you…yes, sort of like that…"

"I get a feeling in my old bones whenever one of those Espers has ever been near…it's been years since I felt it, but you never forget that feeling, and son, I believe I'm feeling it once again. Rather strongly." Arvis patted his hand on the cold rough stone. I sighed, looking at Terra, who was looking at Edgar and I, reading our faces.

"Okay, well, if he is an Esper, then what?" I asked her, my arms crossed.

"I'd…really love to meet him…" She said, quietly. "Maybe all the magic in the world might not be dead after all…who knows. I just…" She trailed off.

"Well we won't know if we don't give it a whirl." Edgar said, trying to make himself sound encouraging. "I've got the demolition gear stowed in my snowmobile. Drill, chainsaw, blowtorch…I'll just need someone to do the heavy lifting." He glanced at me. I shrugged.

"Hey man, I'm puny." We gave each other a hint of a grin. Terra smiled warmly.

"Thank you, guys."

"Work quickly, gentlemen" Arvis called. "Who knows if he'll thaw out and disappear!"

We nodded, turning toward the cave entrance.

"Let's get your gear, Ed."


	3. Mordris

_A/N - I've taken a while to add a new chapter, as I've corrected an error I made in my original upload of chapter 2. It was a screwup as a result of not playing the actual game in a few years. Never fear, mistakes have been atoned for, and the story is back on track. Please enjoy! - Triad_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do you really need all this crap, Ed?" I whined, three duffle bags worth of industrial equipment hanging off my shoulders and arms while I walked like a hobbling penguin through the snow.

"Oh come on, you're a big boy." He smirked at me over his shoulder. Jerk. He was only carrying one bag, and it looked like a light one at that. Probably just his saw. He didn't trust anyone else with that baby. We trekked through the entrance of the mines.

I breathed hard. I'd run thirty miles up and down hill and hadn't had a second to rest, and now I was in for a night of heavy lifting in the dark mines. I curled my toes to avoid stepping on the rapidly forming blisters. No matter how good your shoes are, you'll blister up after a day like mine.

My stomach growled in frustration. It was seriously missing Leila and her cooking. If you're as active of a person as I am, you really regiment what and when you eat. Your body learns to adapt to a precise schedule. When you mess it up, it's not happy. It was letting me know. I hadn't even realized Edgar was talking.

"So, did you notice?" He asked me, stepping over a puddle in the mines.

"Notice what?"

"She's stick thin. It's awful." I didn't realize he was talking about Terra until I thought about it.

"Nah, I didn't." I lied. I felt it when I picked her up, but I didn't really feel like talking about Terra with Edgar. Talking about any woman with my brother was always a drag, full of condescending advice and ridiculous anecdotes. It was like talking about booze with a wine snob.

"Poor girl looks like she hasn't eaten or slept in days. And were those Arvis' clothes she was wearing?"

"Who knows…maybe she doesn't have anything warm."

"I tell you, she just needs someone to take care of her." I rolled my eyes. I saw this coming. I slung one of the bags off my shoulder and hung it at the full extent of my arm, giving my back a break.

"I'm sure you're up for the job." I said, blandly. He was quiet for a minute.

"It's not her fault, really." He went on. "She's a little bit of an oddball. She's caught between two worlds, even though the Esper part of her is gone. She's not entirely human on the inside."

"Oh, so you know what she's like on the inside, huh? So that's what this is about." I joked. Get over yourself, man. He scoffed at me.

"You're so corny. You don't think I genuinely care about our friend?"

"Hey, whatever, I'm not one to judge."

"She's had a rough life, she shouldn't spend so much time alone." He mused.

"I'm sure you care, you should probably tell her that or something."

"These things must be handled delicately." He said, very matter-of-factly, pointing up ahead. Arvis and Terra had built a small fire in the hallway near the plaque on the wall. They were standing around it, waiting for us to come back. I didn't know if they could see us coming up the hall from outside the flickering globe of firelight. I whistled like a train, cracking the silence off the cave walls. Terra and Arvis jumped, startled. She drew her clear, crystalline longsword off her hip, holding it delicately, her eyes darting around the darkness.

I walked ahead of Edgar, into the light. She immediately relaxed upon seeing me, tipping her blade down to the floor. I sighed immensely and let all three bags slide gently off my arms onto the cold, damp rock floor. Edgar set his bag down near the wall and immediately knelt down next to it, rummaging through it. I sat down on one of my duffels, hard mechanical parts poking me in the legs and ass. I winced, but it was less painful than standing at this point.

Terra bent at the waist and handed me a canteen of water. It was half empty. I reflexively chugged it down in a matter of a few seconds, swallowing loudly. The warmth from the fire began to thaw the skin on my face. It was painful but soothing. It was the first break I'd had all day. I mentally prepared myself to work through the night as Edgar began drawing long chalk lines on the stone wall of the cave.

"Sir Sabin Rene, wake up!" Arvis nudged me with his cane. I jolted awake, feeling the cramp in my neck. I blinked, finding everything as it was before I closed my eyes. Had I really fallen asleep, propped up against the duffel bags full of drill bits and jackhammer attachments?

I then noticed, that everything was, in fact, not as it was before I closed my eyes. In the space where Edgar had been drawing lines was a gap. Eight feet by four feet and it went deep into the wall, further than I could see from this angle.

"I can't believe you can sleep through that racket, young man!" Arvis chuckled.

"I grew up around it…" I shrugged. Edgar would often saw and pound away in his workshop into the wee hours of the morning, sometimes for days on end without sleep. In bed in the room directly under across the hall, I learned to deal with it. I can sleep through anything.

"Well, come on now, have a look!" Arvis limped into the opening in the wall, stepping over the chunks of rock that were scattered all over the floor. I grunted loudly and hopped to my feet, my muscles just starting to relax and cramp up from the days exhaustion. I walked like I was a rusted tin man toward the opening.

Inside, Edgar was holding up a torch over Terra's shoulder. He was sweating and covered in sooty rock dusk. The light glinted off an icy surface at the end of the tunnel, about ten feet in from the opening. I squinted to get a better look.

Through the ice I could make out a darkly armored figure, arms crossed over its chest, a pole-axe or a halberd in its grasp. Gideon was some sort of entombed warrior.

"A knight, perhaps." Edgar said quietly to her. She nodded. "Figaro's the nearest kingdom, maybe he was one of ours. I could look through our records when I get back."

She slowly reached out and put her hand on the ice, dragging it slowly down the surface. I could hear her barely mumbling to herself, unable to make out what she was saying. Maybe she was talking to Gideon. I knew she was desperately hoping he was an Esper, that there still could be the possibility that the power of magic still existed without Kefka.

"He's frozen solid" Edgar remarked to her. "If we get him out of here, I can defrost him safely back at Figaro Castle."

"You might want to secure him first, what if he's alive?" I called over their shoulders. Edgar looked at me, a little annoyed.

"Sure, that too. Good to see you're with us again, Sabe." I smirked in return, breaking into a yawn. I slapped my hands together, rubbing the moisture out of them.

"So, we gonna yank this bad boy out of here or what?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"C'mon you fuckin'…mother…God…damn!" I hissed in agony as I bucked my hips upward against the rope tied tight around my waist. Terra was embarrassedly smiling like a little kid listening to the bad words coming out of my mouth. I habitually cursed when I had to do a real heavy lift. It was an ugly habit but there are worse ones.

Both hands wrapped around the tough fiber cord, I dug my feet into the cold dirt and arched my back again, pulling with all my force. Edgar had driven two spikes into the ice and had cut slopes into the top and bottom to make it easier for me to yank it out of the hole. I'm sure it made a difference, but I was having a hell of a time.

I panted, my back aching from the tension, even though I was super careful not to round it or anything. I was pulling this thing with picture perfect form, but it still hurt like a mother. I looked at Edgar, who was hiding a smile.

"Am I even moving this thing at all?"

"Yeah, looks like you're about half a foot out, Sabe. Need some water?" I shook my head at him. I steadied my feet in the spiked stirrup type things he gave me to dig into the floor, and I arched again, letting out a few more sailor cusses under my breath.

Lean, I had to lean back farther. I locked my abdomen tight and pulled with my core, my arms and legs locked in position. I opened my eyes for a second and I could see an upside-down Terra watching carefully. I tensed my neck so tight my head could've popped off.

"It's moving, Sabin!" She yelled, ecstatic.

"Breathe, keep pulling!" Edgar smiled, genuinely impressed. "Let's go, world's strongest man. Breathe." I mustered a grin, repositioning my hands. Pull, God damn it, pull!

I grunted my way into a scream and started taking steps, the enormous chunk of ice following me toward the opening in the cave wall. Pieces of the ceiling were dropping in black chunks around the ice block. Closer to the light, I could see the gloomy vent in his big helmet, his very imposing armor. He obviously was trying to make a statement, this Gideon.

I fell on my ass in exhaustion after I'd dragged the damn thing three feet forward in one straight pull. Terra and Edgar helped me up to my feet and walked me back down to the fire.

"I'm so out of shape." I laughed in between gasps. Terra tried to give me some water but I waved it away. I would have vomited if I drank anything after that kinda strain.

"Take your time." She said, softly, rubbing my neck and traps with surprisingly strong fingers. My eyes fluttered a little, unintentionally. I mean, she really dug her fingertips into the muscles themselves. I could have sworn they were the hands of one of my students, judging by the grip. I groaned and hung my head down, letting her wring me out like a dish towel. I felt like I could fall asleep right there as she squeezed all the tension out of my neck. What a woman. Maybe Edgar was onto something.

"You ready yet?" Edgar said, a little impatiently, after a moment. "We still have to hurry. Right Arvis?" The old man must've nodded or shrugged because he didn't say anything. I opened my eyes as Terra relaxed her long fingers and slid them off me. I sighed. Man, why'd she have to stop?

I walked sluggishly back to the opening once again, shrugging my shoulders, getting the blood working again. I picked up the long cord and looped it around my waist, waiting for Edgar to tie some super-complicated knot at the back. I heard a rumble in the tight space inside the wall.

"Ed, could this thing be collapsing?" I asked, taking an uneasy step back.

"No…it's a cave, the ice isn't holding anything up…"

"Something in the wall is moving." I stated, emphatically. I stood there, listening. My heart started picking up it's pace. The ice budged. At least, I thought it did. Then it was suddenly sliding toward me with a gravelly rumble.

"Woah, guys, move!" I scrambled back, twisting my ankle as the spiked stirrup on my boot dug into the floor and stubbornly held tight. "Shit!" I hissed, yanking it free as my ankle panged in sharp discomfort. I ran on all fours like a bear out of the opening as the three of them stumbled back out of my way.

"It's moving? On its own?" Edgar craned his head in front of the opening as I went past. He quickly pulled away as the knight entombed in ice slid into view. Terra grabbed Arvis and pulled him aside. We watched in stunned disbelief as the eight-foot-tall, four-foot-wide cube of ice slid completely out of the opening into the tunnel.

"What the hell?" I mused, baffled.

"What the hell…" Edgar agreed. Terra took a careful step around the back, looking deep into the ice, her hands pressed against it, like she was trying to feel through the thick frozen wall between her and the dead guy.

"Who are you…" She whispered to him. I looked at her, trying to read her solemn face. She was so hard to read, and I sucked at reading people.

"M-Miss Branford! TERRA!" Arvis stuttered his way to a cracked scream. I jumped as his voice echoed sharply off the rock walls into my ears. I looked frantically around, panicked.

In the opening of the wall, maybe six feet off the ground, this thing was hanging in the looming darkness. It was long and snakelike, and made of jagged stone. It had black gaps for eyes, and fangs that jutted in horrible random directions out of its deformed mouth. It was suspended in the air a few feet from Terra, its jaw slack.

She turned around in a blur, a full second before my paralysis faded. She instantly reared up against the ice, fumbling for her sword. I swore I could hear her heart nearly break through her ribcage. It opened its jaw wider and let out a sound.

It was like the plates of the earth shifting. Like two huge pillars of unpolished rock grinding together. It rattled the marrow in my bones. I bit down on my tongue frantically.

The pain snapped me out of it. I lunged forward.

"Sabin, get her _out_ of there!" Edgar yelled, pull-starting his saw. I yanked my feet up and down, fighting the damned spikes that were sticking into the floor with each step. I jumped and kicked one of them into the ice, vaulting up in the air, my fist cocked back.

I crushed it right at the tip of the nose, my waist turning behind the punch. Rock dust billowed on the impact. I landed in front of Terra, looking up at the tiny spider-web cracks I made in the surface of its head. The head jerked toward me blindingly fast. It opened its mouth wide again and made that rock grinding sound. I seriously almost pissed myself.

"Sabin!" Terra shoved me aside, swinging her crystal longsword in a hard overhand arc, sparks glinting of its long craggy neck. I rolled to my feet as she covered me. My ankle screamed in pain. I frustratedly kicked one of the stirrups off. These things were going to get me killed.

With ridiculously scary agility, this thing started bobbing and weaving its ugly head as Edgar and Terra took swings at it with their weapons. It really didn't seem to like the look of Edgar's roaring saw.

"Sabin!" Edgar growled in frustration, glancing at me sitting on my ass. I frantically kicked at the second stirrup. Edgar swung for the fence with his saw, causing the serpent to buck against the wall, lunging down across the floor out of the way. Right toward me.

Terra shouted surprisingly forcefully as she cut down with both hands into it's long neck, more sparks flying. Sharp fragments of stone plates slid off where she hacked it. It didn't stop it, though.

I put my feet up like a cat, instinctively, putting anything between me and it as it barreled down the mine floor toward me. It opened its disgusting beaklike mouth with teeth pointing every which way as it bore down on me. I pushed off the cave wall and kicked up with my one spiked boot, puncturing the hard roof of its mouth. I grabbed two of its jagged bottom teeth and pushed hard, trying to force it's mouth open. I could hear it grind in pain. I swiveled my foot around inside it's mouth, digging deeper. Suffer, you bastard.

It was my hurt ankle, the one I was digging into it with. Forget the pain, fight. The pain faded. My ankle began to tingle, and soon I could barely feel it anymore as I hung on, my body thrashed around by the struggling monster. Edgar was cutting a swath in it with his saw, Terra was hacking chunks out of it as I struggled with its freakish mouth.

With another grinding roar, it whipped its head side to side and recoiled back into the wall. I was shaken free; I spun like a corkscrew in midair and flopped down, my palms reflexively slapping the floor as I hit, my wrists relaxed. I grunted as a little of the wind was slammed out of my diaphragm, but I could have fallen a lot harder. A split-second later, I jumped up on my numb ankle, and pursued the retreating rock snake. Terra slashed the air near its darting head. It snapped its erratic teeth in return and sucked back into the wall, out of her reach. I ducked under her sword and ran through the opening.

Where the tomb of ice was, was a long winding tunnel that went down a few feet into absolute blackness. I could hear this awful thing rushing backward down the tunnel. I stared down into it for a moment, letting my adrenaline peak and drop. I limped backward on my one spiked boot. The three of us stood, unsure of what to say.

"Mordris…" Arvis mumbled, standing up. He'd dove for cover at the start of the fight and laid with his head covered until it was over.

"You know that thing?" Edgar asked, breathing hard through a clenched jaw.

"I always suspected he was real…he's…horrifying."

"Yeah, he's handsome alright." I scoffed, yanking the stupid spiked stirrup off my numb foot once and for all. Terra noted my limp. She's pretty observant.

"Are you alright? Sit down." Again, I waved her away.

"I'm fine…I need a minute…" I sighed, unsure of how I was going to continue moving this God-awful block of ice in this condition. I felt like utter hell after this ordeal of a day. I just needed it to end.

"Sir Sabin Rene, don't worry. I'll get a team of my men to hitch this up on a dolly and we'll move it out of here, you've done quite enough, the three of you." Arvis consoled us. We weren't going to argue.

"I though this was secret?" Edgar muttered, confused.

"It won't be secret for long. Let's go." Arvis assured him. I tiredly limped to the exit of the mines. Rest. I just needed rest.

That night, when I took my worn boot off to get into the bath in Arvis's house, after the worst day I'd had in years, I noticed something strange. My left foot, the one I twisted on the spikes, the one I jammed into the mouth of Mordris, the mine-snake, was solid stone from the ankle down. I sat on the edge of the tub and tapped its numb surface with a blistered finger and felt my stomach turn.


	4. Homecoming

My left foot was a rock. I don't mean that in the sense that I could kick hard or knock someone out with it, I mean it literally had turned into a piece of stone where it had touched that cave snake's mouth. I sat there absolutely stunned, a towel wrapped around my waist on the side of a tub, feeling the cold lifeless texture of it in disbelief.

What the hell was I supposed to do? Magic was gone, there were no more potions or magical cures for this kind of thing. Come to think of it, petrification is magic, right? So why was this monster still able to turn my foot to stone if magic didn't exist without those statues or those fighting gods or whatever. I cursed and wished I'd paid more attention to the technical end of the magic stuff back in the day. I was really at a loss here.

I stood up and tried to walk around the room, compulsively. Maybe somewhere in my mind I figured I could walk just about anything off. It clumped hard against the floor, the noise making me shudder in disgust. My foot had turned to a God damned piece of rock.

The toes had frozen in place bent upward, as I was kicking them hard into the roof of its mouth when they last moved. This meant I could roll off the ball of my foot with my steps. I actually managed to walk pretty steadily. Still, I was struck dumb and really upset that my foot was indefinitely going to be a piece of stone. Maybe it'd be like this forever…

The washroom door opened, and I spun around on my bent stone toes. I saw Terra step in unaware, and then lean back in awkward surprise.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" She recoiled. "I didn't know you were still in here…I'm sorry!" I frowned. I'd been so preoccupied with my foot that I'd forgotten to take a bath and the water was probably cold by now. She fumbled with the door handle, trying to leave this horribly awkward encounter.

"Terra…" I said, very blankly. She hesitated, obviously looking to leave as quickly as possible. She turned around, still not looking directly at me. It's not like I was naked or anything. It's not like in our months of traveling through the wilderness together we didn't catch compromising glimpses of each other. What was the big deal.

"What is it?" She asked, pulling her bathrobe a little more tightly closed. Her green hair was down. It was matted and knotted after the day's events, but it still was pretty shiny. Her bare legs and feet were as white as the robe she was wearing.

"Look at my foot…" I tapped it dully against the tile floor, making that sharp clunk.

"What? What are you wearing on your…" I scratched my head, looking down. This was awful.

"I think the Mordris did it…when I kicked into his mouth."

"Oh, no, Sabin…" Her face sunk. The tension left her and she looked at me with terrible pity. I hated it. "This is terrible…let me…let me see it." She came over and bent down, touching it lightly with her long fingers. She felt where the flesh gradually met the stone.

"That's a weird feeling." I mumbled.

"I'd imagine…" she said, awed. It felt like I was gradually able to feel something as she moved her hand up the rock into skin, moreso as she reached the flesh. She lingered on it for a moment, and stood up. I didn't know what to say.

"There must be something we can do…" She wondered. I shrugged.

"Aren't potions and tinctures and stuff made from magic?"

"Yes, but there must be some sort of non-magical remedy though, somewhere." She looked like she was brainstorming. She was more worried than me. It was funny. Not really.

"Beats the hell out of me." I sighed, sitting down on the edge of the tub, tapping my new rock foot on the floor. Terra shook her head.

"What if you chip it? What'll you do?" She looked down at me, concerned.

"I guess I'll cement it up good." I forced a smile. "At least I won't have to worry about spraining it."

"Aw, well you can't just keep it like that, we'll have to fix it somehow. I'll figure it out for you, Sabin." She encouraged me. I bumped her hip with my fist lightly, smiling a little warmer. She staggered from the force, a little shocked.

"Oops…sorry. Just playing around…" I said, embarrassed. Almost thirty years old and I still didn't know my own strength. "But thanks. I'll really appreciate it. You know, not having a rock foot and all." She nodded.

We didn't say anything for a minute. I shifted my foot around uneasily.

"Well, I'm sorry for barging in, you can do your bath thing. Take your time." She turned towards the door. I stuck my fingers in the lukewarm water.

"Eh, I guess I can deal with it. I really should clean up after today." I looked at her for approval. She looked over her shoulder and smiled.

"Um, yeah. That might be a good idea." She opened the door.

"Terra." I called after her.

"Hm?"

"You wanna grab something to eat after I clean up? I mean, after you do your thing?"

"Something to eat?"

"Yeah, like at the tavern here. I could so use a beer after today."

"That's funny." She gave a small smile.

"What's funny?"

"Edgar asked me the same thing…you want to go with us?"

"Oh…Edgar. He did, huh?" I chuckled heavily. She immediately was suspicious.

"Something wrong?"

"No, not at all." I made myself grin. "I don't feel like seeing his ugly mug at dinner. It makes me lose my appetite. You guys have fun, I should just go to bed."

"Oh, be nice. He's your big brother."

"Yeah and we've spent quite enough time together today. You guys have fun." I repeated. I could tell she was uneasy. She waved her fingers goodbye and took one more look at me before closing the door behind her. Was she checking me out?

I looked down at my stomach. I hadn't eaten at all today and my muscles had tensed a lot; they were swollen up at the surface of my skin from overuse. I looked pretty jacked. Maybe she was checking me out. Whatever. She was impossible to read, anyway. I sighed, tossing my towel on the sink and sinking down into the bathwater that was almost chilly at this point.

---------\

It was nightfall by the time I walked up the patio to my dojo, empty-handed and thoroughly cramped from yesterday. I hitched a ride on Edgar's snowmobile, and we made the journey back to my neck of the woods in just over two hours, which felt like ten hours because I had to listen to him talk about Terra for the entire trip. How he absolutely swept her off her feet with his charm in the romantic atmosphere of a dingy coal-miners tavern. Give me a break. We'd worked with this girl for months during our quest, and somehow one magical evening in a shithole bar changed it all.

I didn't care. I just didn't want to hear about it. Terra was weird. She made me feel weird. If I didn't have to have that much to do with her, it was fine with me. I had no ill feelings toward her or anything. Like I said, she was just weird, that's all.

Edgar was going back to Figaro castle for more tools and to look through the archives to see if anyone by the name of Gideon had lived in the kingdom over the years. We knew Terra was anxious to believe he was a preserved Esper, but the fact that he could be some dead Knight was a lot more feasible of an explanation.

Terra stayed behind in Narshe to say with Arvis and his men and watch over the body. She said she was going to try to research ways to cure my petrification in the meantime. I figured I'd get back to my schedule until further notice. I had classes to teach, guys to train. Plus, I just didn't need to be around Edgar and Terra any more than I needed to.

I opened the large wooden indented doors to my home/dojo, feeling relaxed to finally be home after yesterday's ordeal. I looked around the foyer, seeing that the lamps were still lit and flickering gently. Leila must have left them lit to make it seem like I wasn't away. Smart girl. Not like I had anything worth stealing. Except my gold statue. And if someone stole that, I'd be somewhat relieved, to tell the truth.

I sighed very enthusiastically as I pulled my coat off and tossed it onto the floor. I kicked the shoe off my stone foot, and pulled the other one off with my hands. I left them haphazard on the mat by the front door. With my one foot that could still feel I squeezed the carpet with my toes and felt immediately relaxed. I looked up after stretching my toes.

Leila was standing in the sliding doorway to my dojo with her hand on her hip and a dusty rag dangling from the other hand. Her mouth was hanging open in disgust, eyebrow raised, her short dark hair in her face. I immediately looked over at the coat and wet shoes I just tossed on the floor and almost burst out laughing. Whoops.

"You pig." She said, shaking her head. "I'm so not picking those up." I couldn't restrain myself from chuckling.

"I'm sorry, babe, I'll pick 'em up."

"You better. I don't bust my ass cleaning this place up every day so you can trash it the second you come in the door." She smirked. I walked over toward her very carefully, trying to accustom myself to walking on my stone foot without limping.

"Hey I told you to only come by twice a week. You didn't have to…" I kissed her on the cheek, her face hard and tense.

"I get paid to work every day, I'm not a freeloader." She said, stubbornly. "_Someone's_ gotta keep this place in order."

"You're great, hon. You really didn't have to but I'm glad you did." I attempted to butter her up. I don't think she ever smiled, just smirked.

"Yeah well, I was about to leave. I guess you want something to eat, huh?"

"I could get it myself, it's no big deal. You worked more than I planned as it is."

"No, go sit down, I'll make you something to eat." She insisted. What a tough little housekeeper she was. Maybe if she'd come to me under different circumstances I'd be training her to fight instead of having her fix me dinner and scrub my floors.

"Oh if you insist." I smiled, hugging her. She didn't budge in my arms. I get it, you're little miss independent. You don't need someone to take care of you. You could be a little affectionate sometimes, though. I let her go after a second and she walked off toward my kitchen.

----------/

"Sabe. C'mere, it's ready." She was busying over my tray at the counter, making sure it was all set right. For such a hard-nosed individual, she had such a fuss for fine detail. I watched her fix it just so from over her shoulder. Her movements were practiced but careful. I looked at her worn, deft hands folding my napkin and I suddenly felt exceptionally guilty.

"So are you leaving then?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah I'll be out of your way in a second if you'll let me finish preparing your dinner…" She scoffed. I slapped my forehead.

"No, I didn't mean it like _that_. I mean, like, do you want to stay?"

"For what?" She asked, almost annoyed. I rolled my eyes.

"I don't know, you want something to eat, too?" She laughed at me.

"Sure yeah, now that I've made yours I'll make myself something so you can watch me eat it after you're done. No thanks, I'm fine."

"We could share that, I'm not that hungry." I lied.

"Neither am I. Besides, it's such a dull meal you always have me make. I'd never eat it." She turned back to the tray, fiddling with the silverware she'd already set. I moved closer to her, grinding my teeth as my stone foot bumped the floor. She didn't notice it.

"You don't like me, huh?" I ran my hand down her back gently. She arched it and squirmed.

"Grow up." She said, defensively.

"It's all right, you don't have to. It's not part of your job." I said quietly, my face near her ear. I put my other hand on her waist. She tensed her body. This wasn't going real well.

"Sabin…" She said, almost freezing in place. I squeezed her taut waist, not really even knowing why or what I was doing it for. I heard her breath come heavier through her nose. She swallowed. My hands slid themselves down to her hips. She was very solid feeling, and tense as a rattlesnake. I leaned my chin on her shoulder. She slowly put the fork and knife back into place. I could see her dark eyelash flutter a little beneath her messy bangs.

"Stay?" I whispered in her ear, towering over her, craning my neck downward. I could see her face grow weary and almost tired looking. Leila wasn't a day over twenty but the expression on her face was twice that.

"No." She protested quietly. "This is stupid." She added, biting her lip. "Stupid." She whispered, her eyes closing. I couldn't tell if she was angry or scared.

"I'm sorry…" I whispered with a sigh, sliding my arms back around her waist in an embrace. I really was regretting whatever had come over me. She tugged at my arms reflexively. I started to let go when her nails squeezed my forearms gently, sliding to my big, blockish hands. She took one of my hands in hers and felt it, the permanently swollen knuckles, the squared fingertips, all the callouses. The blisters from pulling the rope yesterday. She traced her fingers slowly over them, turning her body toward me very slightly.

I clumsily grabbed her chin and kissed her on her pursed lips, feeling her rushed breath on my face. Both her hands were still clutching my other hand tightly, she stood still as I kissed her, her lips parting slightly. I slid my tongue through her small mouth, feeling her wispy short hair brush my nose. Her eyes were closed shut, eyebrows raised a little.

I pulled my hand out of her grasp and picked her up by the waist, kissing her neck. I felt the pulse in her neck punching against my lips. Her strong, short legs squeezed around my hips, her ass bumping into the countertop. Her fingers wound tight into my hair and pulled as I kissed her under the jaw.

A few minutes later we were on the soft carpet of my living room floor that she carefully cleaned every week. I was over her on my elbows and knees, making her body jerk roughly with my hips. Her leg bent over my collarbone, the smooth skin of her calf touched the stubble on my face. I held her hip bones tightly, her hands gripped my wrists as she gasped silently.

The initial rush had cleared, I was working her over now with a steadier mind. It bothered me a little how quiet she was. She kept holding her breath and biting her lip and grabbing my wrists. She wasn't like the other slutty hero-groupies I'd conquered. I wasn't sure if liked it so much.

Competitive, massive athlete. That was me. She was playing a mind game, trying to hold out on me. I knew that's what she was up to, using her legs to slow me down, arching away from me. She was trying to see if I'd really give it to her or if I was all talk.

I raised my hips up off the floor more, sliding my knees back, kissing her ribs and stomach, forcing her to let go of my hands and grab my neck and my hair instead. I leaned my weight into her, bucking with that same hip power that tossed guys off me in the dojo.

She cried out and sucked her breath back an instant later. Yeah? That's what you like? I knew it. I railed her harder, shamelessly. She gritted her teeth and yanked my hair. I gently bit into her shoulder. Maybe not that gently. Her eyes squeezed tight and her lips parted over her teeth. I knew this was it. I smiled wide, she gasped.

"It's okay baby, let it go." I whispered in her ear.

"You're hurting me, Sabe…" she whimpered, pained, barely audible. I felt a pang in my stomach. My face reddened.

Stupid moron. I cursed myself without saying a word. Fucking stupid moron. I stopped moving, too embarrassed and frustrated to know what to do. This whole thing was a ridiculously bad idea.

"Shit, Leila…" I mumbled, apologetic, hanging my head. She slowly pulled my head and shoulders closer, kissing me on the forehead. She started moving her own hips gently, steadily, pulling herself to me with her legs. Her lips caught mine. She softened and kissed me back. Her tense, hard body seemed to thaw against me. I moved back into rhythm with her. It was hypnotic and smooth. It was timeless.

Before I knew what happened, she was timidly moaning in surrender between kisses, her muscles tensing in pulses. She slowed and relaxed into the floor, her solid, hard form now soft flesh. I hovered there over her as she breathed, head turned to the side, her big brown eyes opening. They were a little glazed over as they wandered around.

"You better pick that stuff up." She muttered, motioning with her head toward my coat and shoes in the foyer. I smiled, relieved to hear her speak, my racing blood starting to cool. She smiled back. It wasn't a smirk. It was a little smile. She hugged me around my chest and back, cradling herself under me.

"I'll get it tomorrow." I said, kissing her again.

I didn't want to think about tomorrow.


	5. Morning After

I awoke to the sensation of a pair of boots hitting me in the ass through my bedsheets. I grunted and swatted near them. I jolted upward in time to catch my heavy winter coat with my face. I sat there stunned, pulling the wooly fabric off my head a moment later.

Leila gave a coy smirk and spun on her bare heel back down the hallway out of my bedroom. She was wearing her long faded gray shirt and nothing else. I was stunned and still half asleep but I managed to notice her muscular thighs tensing and relaxing as she walked out of view.

"I said I'd get these tomorrow." I called, tossing my coat onto a chair.

"It's been tomorrow for thirteen hours already." She yelled back. I shook my head. Did she work for me? I wasn't sure anymore. I woke up so suddenly I hadn't really recalled everything yet. Recalled the burns on my knees and elbows and the soreness in my stomach muscles from the tension. We were at it for a long time last night. Maybe longer than we should have been.

Right as I climaxed with Leila, right as my mind filled with exploding white light and my eyes shut, I saw Terra. I was entangled in her luminescent green hair and pale skin, making love to her. She was screaming in some otherworldly echoing voice that rattled my spine. Here eyes were white rays. She began to transform, her body igniting into a purple blaze that consumed me and we both burned alive.

I sat there in bed, sweating a little from the vivid recollection. My heart thudded in my chest. Get a grip, Sabin. You are not in love with Terra Branford. She is your ally, your friend. Your weird friend. The apple of your brother's eye.

My brother. I thought of Edgar and Terra together in that bar in Narshe without me. Edgar spinning stories around her, dazzling her like he claimed. What if it really played out that way? What the hell gave him the right, after years of us all being mutual friends, to pounce on her like this all of a sudden, like she was his for the taking? And why the hell was it any concern of mine?

"Come on, get your lazy ass out of bed." Leila hollered from the kitchen. "I'm not eating by myself out here." I heard her running multiple pans at once, plating food up while she worked the stove. She could have worked in a five-star restaurant. She could be a professional athlete with that body of hers. What the hell was she doing cleaning my house?

I rubbed my eyes and hopped to my feet, pulling a sleeveless shirt over my bare chest. I'd put on a pair of fight shorts before going to sleep. I hated sleeping nude. My foot made a loud bump when I landed on it. In the course of last night's events, Leila didn't even notice my foot. I was careful to keep it away from her so she didn't brush against it with her own feet and really kill the mood. I put slippers on just to avoid an awkward breakfast conversation.

The table was set by the time I got to the kitchen. She laid out a spread of pancakes, bacon and eggs prepared three different ways. A basket of toast sat in the center of the table. She was wiping down the counter looking at me out of the corner of her eye, curiously. I could tell she really wanted me to be impressed. Somehow all I could feel was really, really guilty.

I mean, I'm sure this kind of thing was routine for the maids at Edgar's place, but Leila was no routine maid. I'm sure that's why Edgar sent her to me. I couldn't picture her responding well to his undoubted advances on her. I couldn't see him responding well to her attitude either.

She washed her hands in the sink and dried them and walked over to the seat across the table from mine, her hands at the bottom of her long shirt, playing with the hem. She sat down and put two eggs and one pancake on her place with serving spoons.

"That's all you're gonna eat?" I asked, surprised. There was like, a meal for four on the table and she barely made a dent in it.

"Yeah, right." She said. "I'll eat you under the table." I looked at her skeptically. She giggled, her mouth full of scrambled egg. "That sounded naughty, didn't it?"

"Only a little…and no you won't." I replied, stacking three flapjacks on my plate with two eggs over. I dug in, the sweet fluffiness exploding in my mouth. Man, could this girl cook. Part of me wanted to bitch about the unhealthiness of it, but it was too damn good.

I caught a glimpse of her watching me intently devouring her cooking. She never stayed around to watch me eat. She either went home for the night or went to go tidy up the dojo before classes started. She beamed a little at how ferociously I ate, while still steadily working on her portion.

"My housemate is totally going to wonder where I was last night." She said, mouth full. I shrugged.

"Just tell her I came home late and you crashed here. She wont suspect anything." She laughed, dismissively.

"Yeah right. She's not dumb. She worries about me all the time alone in a house with a big oaf like you." She hid a smile. I smiled back but for some reason I wasn't really enjoying her sarcasm. I was distracted. To be honest, I really didn't want to talk about last night with her. It was inevitably going to warp the way things worked around here.

"Tell her if she's worried, she can come check it out herself." I joked. She rolled her eyes.

"Hilarious." She finished chewing, swallowed, and put her fork and knife on her empty plate. "So you're teaching class this afternoon?" She asked. I'd completely forgotten.

"Oh, yeah, I guess. Sure." She raised an eyebrow, standing up and pushing her chair in.

"Well I guess I'll go open up your dojo then." She rinsed her plate in the sink and walked out into foyer. I was a little stunned. I half expected her to sit and talk more, putting off her daily work. I was dreading it actually. Maybe that was arrogant of me to assume.

----------\

"Sir, what happened to your foot?" Marcus asked, pointing to the tightly wrapped bandage from ankle to toe. I nervously took a deep breath.

"I sprained it doing some work, I'll be alright. Let's get moving, guys. Six by ten circuit today, got it?" They all groaned. Apparently Marcus had gone easy on them in my absence. They lined up in rows and began cutting through the bodyweight calisthenics in sequence. Six sets of ten reps, eight different exercises that took them through all the major positions and muscle groups.

They grunted and broke into sweats halfway through the second set. They went from doing high jumps, dropping into pushups, then crunches. No rest. Just a minute of jogging between sets. I really wanted to work out with them to get my mind off things, but no one would buy my sprained ankle story then. Instead, I paced around, pointing out bad form here and there.

They took a quick water break and gathered around for the lesson. I was teaching a modification of the Seoi-Nagi, the classic judo shoulder throw. It was a lot easier to hit in a real fight or a competition than the traditional Seoi-Nagi. Normally you grab the arm, backstep your hips parallel to theirs, push up on your heels and send them hurtling over your shoulder. Work's great on training partners in demos.

However, when the guy's moving, resisting, pulling, pushing, it's not so simple to land. It's a basic move but it's real hard to implement in a struggle with a strong or experienced fighter.

"If you bang your inside knee down on the backstep" I demonstrated on Marcus, turning my hips into him, trapping his arm against my shoulder, dropping down on my closest knee, facing away from him.

"You can bring his whole body over your shoulder without loading him up on your heels, lifting him, or tossing him." I tugged gently and Marcus rolled over my shoulder, breaking his fall by slapping his hand firmly on the mat. "You can use this in a real fight very easily, because he won't have time to push you away, or slide off your hip. If you bring the knee down fast enough as you're trapping his arm, he'll go right down when you pull him. You can hit this move freestanding, off the tie-up, or in the clinch. I personally recommend using it in the clinch, as it's the safest, most sure way to get the throw without leaving yourself open to get punched." I lectured. Marcus stayed put on the mat, in case I needed to demonstrate anything else. My boys all stood around, mentally replaying the move in their heads, nodding slowly.

"Got it? Alright, pair off and give it a shot." I commanded. Seconds later the dojo was thundering with hands slapping the mat and sharp exhalations. I paced around the mat, calling out the occasional "Nice!" Diago was executing the drop Seoi-Nagi was perfect form, as usual. I immediately doubted his ability to pull it off under pressure, though. I'd test him later. The fight mojo would be instilled in that boy if it was the last thing I did.

I was getting good at walking on my foot like it was a normal foot. I was in no way used to it though. I wondered if Terra was having any luck with her research. She knew a lot about magic, more than any of us. She'd been using it since she was a young Imperial officer, she also had the natural ability as a half-Esper. Though that side of her supposedly vanished, I wonder if she still remembered the way it all worked.

I thought of her sitting up late, pouring over old books and guides of hers, trying to find a way to heal me. I wondered if she was concerned with me as a comrade or as more than that. I wondered how she'd feel if she knew I thought of her when I was with another woman.

She'd heal my foot back into flesh, we'd embrace in joy, I'd kiss her. She'd look longingly at me, I'd let her wild hair down and run my fingers through it, we'd…

Leila was watering the plants on the patio behind the doorway in the hot June sun, her feet in sandals, her eyes squinting a little. I turned away before she saw me looking at her. What was I doing?

Terra still flickered in front of my eyes. She was looking at me over her shoulder. She wanted me to follow her wherever. I shook my head, trying to clear it. I needed to think clearly before I did something stupid.


	6. Stretched Thin

I awoke with a start, my heart pumping fast.

"Terra?"

No answer. I must have been dreaming of her again. I was pushed all the way to the left side of the large stuffed mattress on my floor. Like someone else was with me. I looked around my room in the dark, rubbing my heavy eyelids.

My stone foot dragged coarsely on the sheets, making a zipping sound. My stomach turned. When I woke up, for a few moments I would forget that I'd been permanently disfigured. Then I'd remember and get this sinking feeling that my life was now going to be different beyond my control.

I hated that. Not like I've never been injured. Far from it. Sometimes I wondered if I craved injury. It was like I got high off getting broken and coming back stronger. This was different. This was something that had me beat. Something that made me reach outside of myself for help. I didn't like it one bit.

I suppose that's why I was thinking of Terra so much. For all I knew, she was the only one who could stand a chance at helping me. I felt very vulnerable and dependent. It was a weird bond we were forming nonverbally.

I looked over at my grandfather clock near the moonbeam of the window. It was three in the morning. What a relief. Plenty more time to sleep. Classes didn't start till noon today, which meant I'd be getting out of bed around eleven forty. After all, I was still "injured" and didn't need to warm up carefully, just coach my guys.

I tossed over to one side and exhaled as I hit the mattress, surrendering to sleep.

"She's cheating on me with you then, huh?"

I jumped out of bed, my eyes still hazy.

"Who's there?!" I tensed my fists, staggering.

"Shit! Dammit, Sabin…sorry. Ah, crap I spilled scotch on your carpet, friend."

I couldn't see details of the shape sitting in the chair beside the clock but I could recognize the smooth low voice. He stood up into the moonlight, a slight guy with pale skin and stubble.

"Locke?"

"You scared the crap out of me, bud. Here, hold this, I'll clean up your floor." He handed me a rocks glass half full of warm scotch.

"I scared you? This is…uh, you know. My place."

"Didn't think you'd still have those reflexes I guess." Locke chuckled. He grabbed a towel off the back of my bedroom door, dabbing it on the wet carpet. My whole room was going to reek of booze. Very classy for the ladies, I'm sure. Thanks Locke.

"Don't worry about it, man. How the hell are you? What brings you here so late?"

"Why'd you call Terra's name when you heard me come in?" He looked up from the carpet and gave me his schoolyard prankster smile. I laughed, flabbergasted.

"Hey, this is my house, bub. I'll ask the questions."

"Come on, I need to know. I'm an information guy, I need to know. Is someone from the old gang getting friendly with the old girl?"

"Maybe, but it's definitely not me. Look, I-"

"What? Then who?"

"What the fuck, Locke, are you a girl or something? I haven't seen you in more than a year and you crash my place and now you want to know if I'm banging Terra? Like, that's what you're here for? Gossip" He looked down, like he knew he'd pushed it just a bit too far. I felt bad, instantly, for blowing up at him. He was in the wrong but I couldn't help but feel like a jerk. Locke is that kinda guy that's very tough to be mad at.

"Listen, calm down. I'm sorry. I'm actually here on business."

"What business?"

He scratched his head. "I need to borrow some money."

I laughed. "Why do you need money from_ me_? I'm a karate teacher, man. You're the big shot adventurer treasure hunter guy. How could you possibly not have any money left?"

"Look, I have money, it's just, well, a lot of it is assets and artifacts, stuff I can't just use as cash. Also, I don't want the wife to know what I'm up to. This is top secret stuff. She'd notice if I took a huge chunk out of our personal savings without warning."

"Well I'd certainly hope she'd be on the lookout for that kinda thing." Celes. A woman of infinite patience was required to put up with the roguish whims of a guy like Locke. I'm sure she'd gotten used to his tricks by now. She must have had him on a pretty tight leash.

"Anyway, yeah. I was thinking. That statue of you. It's so ugly."

"But you just said no artifacts…"

"Right man, but it's solid gold. I can melt it down and coin it."

"Who the hell is gonna do that for you and not tell anyone?"

"Relax, I know people."

"Locke, you GAVE me that statue..."

"Look it was a joke from better times. It's ugly as sin, you won't miss it. I'm going to coin that sucker, I will pay you back with interest, Sabin. Please, I just need this."

"I don't know why you don't just ask my brother…" I shook my head.

"Because I honestly trust that you won't tell anyone." He looked at me with sincerity. I rolled my eyes.

"I also won't make you tell me a lie about why you need it. I know you better. Take it out yourself, I'm not moving it for you."

"You're a real pal, Sabe."

"Whatever. I'm going back to bed." I collapsed back onto the sheets, flustered.

-------

I awoke to the strangest of sensations. I could feel vibrations in my leg. I was being touched, but I couldn't feel the point of contact. I jerked upward, looking. Leila's big brown eyes met mine. She looked worried sick with curiosity.

"Shit." I muttered, looking away. I pulled my stone foot away from her outstretched fingers. She didn't say anything. There was a basket of laundry on the chair, folded, pressed. My gi was laid out on the foot of the bed. She never brought me my gi in the morning.

I felt miserably guilty and embarrassed.

"Did you…move your statue?" She mumbled.

"What? Oh, don't worry about it."

"Sabin…" She looked up at me again. God how I wanted her to stop looking at me. She was like a lost puppy. So unlike herself. I couldn't stand it.

"Please, Leila. I think I should probably be alone. You can take the day off."

"You have class to teach, what do you mean alone?" She said, a tinge of outrage in her voice.

"Have Marcus take over for me today, I've got to go travel."

"Again? Sabin what's going on with you? Why are you avoiding me?" She was full-fledged mad. Her fist pressed into her hip. I wanted to care, but I was stretched too thin. The past week was unreal.

"Please go enjoy your day off." I got out of bed and started getting dressed. I swore I could hear her exhale hissing smoke through her nose. She stomped out of the room. A few seconds later, my front door slammed.

-----

"Ever sleep with someone you shouldn't have?" I asked, knowing it was a stupid question. My brother laughed richly, astounded.

"Little brother, what have you gotten yourself into?"

"No, Ed, it's a hypothetical question." I killed the last of my red wine, motioning to the waiter. "Another one would be great, thanks. No, I'm just saying, like, have you ever regretted it? Are there lines that should be drawn?"

"How young?"

"No, that's not the issue."

"So there is an issue?"

"Ed, please. Humor me." He smiled with glee as the waiter filled my fifth glass. Everything was very rosy.

"Okay. Go on. You want to know if there indeed are scruples regarding affairs with sultry young ladies?"

"Not sultry, just…"

"Sorry, brother, if I overcomplicate things. Much like this wine to you is a way to get silly drunk, it is art to me. The same phenomenon applies to the pursuit of the fairer sex. I am a connoisseur. So was she a fan of yours?"

"No, stop asking. I'm the one asking you a question, Ed…"

"Forgive me. Well. It's a careful game, Sabe. Lots of factors are involved. It's mathematical to some. How beautiful she is, coupled with how adventurous…over how much you stand to lose by crossing her…which is the value of how clever she is coupled with how close to your personal business she is. Does this help any, Sabe?"

My stomach flipped a little. Maybe it was the wine.

"I think I need some air."

------

The summer air was thick and moist, hardly a refresher. Edgar stepped out onto the balcony behind me, away from the noise of the dinner party.

"You know I can send you any of my maids and servants you wish, Brother. If you made a mistake with Leila, you don't have to live with it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I mused weakly. He knew. How did he know? And why wasn't I covering it up? Damned wine.

"It means she's of low birth, no offense. Her word means nothing, her type is a dime a dozen. If her presence makes you uncomfortable day to day then I'll send her packing and you can have anyone you like. Personally, I congratulate you. I never had any luck with that one. Don't be offended but it's originally why I sent her to you." He chuckled, walking over to the railing. "You're not going to be sick, are you?"

"No…don't worry about it. I can fix my own problems."

"Don't let her mess with your mind, remember, she works for you. Keep it clear. I'm not telling you to get rid of her, just…well. Sabin, women are aware of the power they have over men. She knows she's affected you, she will take what she can get, it's just natural. If you let her, she'll wind up running your household before you know it. Keep your heads in order, understand? That's the first rule."

"There are rules?" I said, amused.

"Oh yes, I will teach you, dear brother." He took a long sip. We listened to the night in silence. Finally he spoke.

"I'm going to marry Terra Branford." My jaw tightened like a bear trap. I made sure my face didn't budge.

"Does she know about this?" I forced a joke.

"Oh she will. She's going to be arriving with my crew and Gideon in the morning. I plan to propose tomorrow night." He clapped me on the shoulder, turning back to the party. "Work on your speech, Best Man." He called over his shoulder.

I felt nothing.


End file.
